Hoppy

Planted Tank Guru

Visitor Messages

thanks hoppy! your wisdom is helping me get back on my feet with my iwagumi tank. i just read your par/watt http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=184368 and i found myself with way too much light for the cfl bulb graph. (17.1 mr aqua, dhg, hc plants, lights will be 13 inches from the substrate, pressurized co2, ei dosing) I'm assuming that this fixture which is rated at 13watts max cfl (2 of them should be more than enough to suffice about probably 90-100 par which is high lighting according to you. Going to 23 watted bulbs 13 inches would of put me close to 200 par which is doable but im pretty sure alot more maintenance etc..so with this set up i have would you think 2 13 watt cfl's 13 inches would be more than enough. thank hoppy i appreciate your wisdom.

There really isn't a unique answer to the question about how high a wattage you can use in a fixture that is labeled as a 40 watt max fixture. If the fixture was made to be used with CFL bulbs, it may be labeled based on the "equivalent to" wattages of CFL bulbs. Or, if it is made to be used with any type of bulb, it would probably be rated based on the maximum current and the maximum heat load from the bulb, so the 40 watts would mean 40 real watts, not "equivalent to" watts. When I used CFL bulbs I always used sockets and wiring that were rated for real watts, and it is still possible that all fixtures are rated for real watts. A good way to decide would be, for a commercially available light fixture, to see what specific bulbs are recommended to be used - CFL bulbs or some other kind of bulb. If it is CFL bulbs I would assume "watts" means "equivalent watts", but if it is other bulbs, such as incandescent bulbs, I would assume "watts" mean real watts.

hoppy...if i may have one more question for you since you are good with lights... i have a 40 watt max fixture(but for some reason it says to only use 13 watt cfl) I can actually go to say..... a 26 watt cfl and still be safe right? I plan on putting 2 of those on my 17 gallon carpeted mr aqua tank. what do you think. thanks

thanks hoppy...I decided to get into this hobby again after seeing everyone's tanks..i failed before with cyano bacteria and had a newborn so was scared of him bumping the co2 tank over or something.. this time..lots of plants co2 lesser light and non limiting ferts for my iwagumi (hc and dwarf hair grass) *cross fingers*

chouavue, Tom Barr uses city water too, and found that dosing GH booster at each water change was necessary to get enough magnesium for the plants. So, I dose GH booster at water changes, too. But, Elk Grove water is largely, or entirely well water, where ours is mostly river water. Here is your water quality report: http://www.egws.org/pdf/2013_CCR_Published_2014.pdf